When utilizing pipes for various applications it is often desirable to coat the pipe with a layer of material in order to protect the pipe against corrosion or to provide other types of protection to the pipe, for example in order to insulate the pipe. Corrosion protection extends the life of the pipe and has found particular application in pipelines where miles upon miles of pipes are laid and where replacing and/or repairing the pipes would be difficult, time consuming and costly. Various types of machines are known to apply coatings or protective layers of material to the outer wall of a tubular member, such as a pipe. For example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 17,675 to Christopher, it is known to helically wrap tape onto a pipe in order to protect the pipe against corrosion. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,011,463 to Vianini, it is also known to spirally apply a layer of plastic material onto a pipe and to apply pressure on the joints of the spiral in order to regularize the joints and assist in the proper positioning of the plastic material.
Although wrapping the pipe with a layer of protective material affords a level of corrosion protection, this protection is limited by the ability of the material to prevent moisture and air from contacting the outer surface of the pipe and by the ability of the material to remain adhered to the pipe. Thus, there is continued development in the field to provide advanced methods for adhering corrosion resistant layers to the outer surface of a pipe in a cost-effective, convenient manner.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a machine for applying a protective layer onto a tubular member, such as pipes and the like, in a wrinkle free and continuous manner so as to effectively adhere the protective layer to the outer surface of the pipe while preventing air and/or moisture from becoming entrapped between the protective layer and the pipe.